P.K. Subban under fire for bizarre shot at Lizzo when discussing Leafs

May 3 2023, 7:39 pm

During their appearance in this year’s playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs have drawn cheers, jeers, praise, and criticism from all over the hockey world.

But they also appear to have drawn out some bizarre comments about pop singer Lizzo from former NHL defenceman P.K. Subban.

On last night’s ESPN broadcast of Toronto’s game, co-panellist John Buccigross suggested the Leafs needed to “pack a lunch” to come back stronger in Game 2 following the Leafs’ 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers in the opening contest of their second-round matchup.

“Maybe they need to pack a Lizzo-sized lunch,” Subban replied.

“Pack a lunch… lock in! Be ready to compete! Bring work boots! Expect that they are going to try and outwork you in hard areas!” Subban later tweeted without mentioning the four-time Grammy Award-winning singer.

Subban’s comments were the target of many critics on social media, suggesting he should apologize for the comments targeting Lizzo.

“Love you P.K. but you really need to apologize for your Lizzo comment,” CultMTL writer Dave MacIntyre tweeted. “It was fatphobic and extremely uncalled for. She didn’t deserve that and it’s harmful to your fans who have weight/body image issues of their own.

“Then why mention Lizzo at all??? Just a disrespectful comment for no reason that alienates people from hockey,” user @eileenjforrest added.

“Pack a lunch means one thing, the moment you brought Lizzo in, you knew what you were doing. Great way to grow the game by being fatphobic,” user @whitneyd tweeted.

Subban has been a regular on ESPN’s panels this year since his retirement prior to this season.

During his time in the NHL, Subban played 13 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils, winning the Norris Trophy in 2012-13 as the league’s top defenceman while with Montreal.

The Leafs host the Panthers tomorrow for Game 2, with puck drop set for 7 pm ET.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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